Leading Indian American PAC endorses Kamala Harris for President

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Shortly after President Joe Biden declared he would be stepping down from the campaign for re-election, the leading Indian American political action committee, Indian American Impact Fund, (IMPACT) announced its support for Kamala Harris for President. President Biden had already endorsed his running make for replacing him in the race to the White House come November 5.

Harris becomes the second Indian American to run for the highest office, after Nikki Haley, who however, abandoned her campaign and threw her support just days ago at the Republican National Convention, behind former President Donald Trump.

The Indian American Impact Fund’s endorsement comes after some high profile politicos, including Hillary and Bill Clinton, came out behind her. At this moment former President Obama has yet to endorse Harris, as has former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Among one of the favored potential candidates is Governor of California Gavin Newsom.

IMPACT, in a statement July 21, said it “endorses Kamala Harris for President and will launch the largest ever investment to propel the first Indian American to the presidency and boost South Asian turnout.”

Shortly before this, Harris said in her statement on the Biden/Harris campaign, “With this selfless and patriotic act, President Biden is doing what he has done throughout his life of service: putting the American people and our country above everything else.”

She began her message saying, “On behalf of the American people, I thank Joe Biden for his extraordinary leadership as President of the United States and for his decades of service to our country. His remarkable legacy of accomplishment is unmatched in modern American history, surpassing the legacy of many Presidents who have served two terms in office.”
Biden’s decision was quickly supported by high profile figures including former President Barack Obama, and lawmakers in the Democratic Party. But it is not a given decision as Democrats are divided on who they may want to replace Biden.

Deepak Raj, co-founder and board chair of Indian American Impact Fund, said this on the IAImpact Fund press release, thanked President Biden for his “profound, tangible” impact on communities across the nation, going on to say, “As one of Kamala Harris’s most vociferous supporters from the very beginning of her political career, Impact is thrilled to throw our support behind her candidacy for president. Harris possesses an extraordinary ability to unite our nation at a time when the stakes have never been higher.”

Raj added, “We are ready to leverage our extensive network of resources to mobilize South Asian voters, confident that they will be instrumental in delivering the White House to Kamala Harris in November.”

The Executive Director of Impact Chintan Patel, called Harris a “history-making” vice president, adding, “Harris is a tested and proven leader who has consistently demonstrated a strong, unwavering commitment to our community’s values. As one of the nation’s foremost leaders on reproductive and women’s rights to championing policies that have helped countless small business owners and entrepreneurs, Harris has shown she is eminently qualified on a range of policies and knows how to build diverse coalitions.” Patel called her the best chance for safeguarding democracy.

Harris said she was “deeply grateful” to Biden and his family and that she came to know the President through his sone Beau, recounting her interactions with the late Beau Biden who was also an Attorney General, like her.

“I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination,” said Harris, who may face considerable opposition even within her own Party.

“Over the past year, I have traveled across the country, talking with Americans about the clear choice in this momentous election. And that is what I will continue to do in the days and weeks ahead. I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party—and unite our nation—to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda.”

Meantime, she emphasized, “We have 107 days until Election Day. Together, we will fight. And together, we will win.”

Harris served as the first Indian American Attorney General in the country, in California, and was the first from the community to be a US Senator, and a Vice President. During her tenure as Vice President and before that, she has occasionally spoken about her Indian heritage, being the daughter of a single mother, late Shyamala Gopalan Harris, a renowned biomedical scientist, who was married to Jamaican-American Donald Harris.